Details must be settled before hospitals can be sold

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Details must be settled before hospitals can be sold

County, state must agree on paying down health-care system’s debt before committee can seek bidders

by Daniel Valentine | Staff Writer

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The Prince George’s County Hospital Authority, a seven-member group tasked with finding a buyer for the county’s financially ailing hospital system, is ready for work — it just needs to know what exactly is on the table to be sold.

The authority met for the first time Monday, just two weeks after being sworn in as part of a state deal with the county to sell the county hospital system. The system, which consists of hospitals in Laurel, Cheverly and Bowie, has operated at a loss for 10 years due to the high number of uninsured patients, requiring frequent bailouts from both state and county governments.

The governor signed an agreement earlier this year to form an authority to review bids on the hospital, but before buyers can be solicited, the county and state must agree on how much will be contributed by each to lower the hospital’s $100 million debt and upgrade the facilities, which are said to cost an additional $100 million.

‘‘If there’s no state and county deal, there’s no deal,” said Kenneth Glover, authority chairman.

So the group’s first meeting focused on agreeing on bylaws and deciding to split up to handle the legal, financial and health-care portions of their assignment. They also agreed to meet again July 31 and Aug. 21, to have a court reporter document their public meetings and to allow officials and residents to comment at meetings if they register at least two days in advance.

Under the terms of the county-state partnership, both governments should agree on hospital funding amounts by July 21. If they miss that date, they have a 30-day extension. Failure to reach agreement by the end of the extension scuttles the deal.

A county spokesman said both sides are talking several times a week about funding.

Once the two sides agree, the authority will have 30 days to put out its contract for bids, Glover noted. The group is expected to have a buyer in place for state approval by January.

‘‘It’s only slightly impossible,” Glover said of the deadline for the bidding process.

One advantage for the system attracting a buyer is that it is in need, Glover said. Each year, the hospitals care for more than 180,000 patients. The Prince George’s Medical Center in Cheverly is the designated trauma center for all accidents and emergencies in southern Maryland.

‘‘You don’t have to figure out who’s going to come,” said Glover, adding that the challenge would be attracting more patients with health insurance to the facilities.

E-mail Daniel Valentine at dvalentine@gazette.net.